


Escape Route

by allicekitty13



Series: Jalice Week 02/21 [1]
Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, F/M, JaliceWeek21, Road Trip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:33:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29238363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allicekitty13/pseuds/allicekitty13
Summary: It was a sentiment Alice could relate to; after all, less than a week ago, she'd abandoned everything in her life to hit the road. Although, in her own case, retuning would be much harder. Charlotte had a loving and accepting family who only wanted what was best for her to return to. She envied the woman slightly; if she'd grown up with even a quarter of the support Charlotte had, maybe she would still be at NYU right now. But those weren't the cards she'd been dealt.
Relationships: Alice Cullen/Jasper Hale
Series: Jalice Week 02/21 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2146971
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7
Collections: Jalice Week - February 2021





	Escape Route

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I know it's Jalice Week but this turned out to be more about Alice and Charlotte being friends than it did about Jalice. I refuse to apologize.

  
  
It was dark, the night only illuminated by the streetlamps and light peeking out the few windows scattered throughout the apartment buildings lining the alleyway. Not many people were awake at such a late hour; usually, she wouldn't be either. On an average night, she would be asleep, getting ample rest for classes the next morning. Tonight, however, Alice was sitting in her car, hands tightly clenching the steering wheel internally debating if she really could do this. She was already so close, so near to her goal. A goal that had been festering inside for months now—possibly even years if she were to be honest. 

That afternoon Alice had done the unthinkable by dropping out of school mid-semester. Just a few hours ago she had packed up as many belongings as she could possibly fit into her small two-door Honda Civic. Alice had been sitting there in the driver's seat, building up the final shreds of her courage ever since. If she were to follow through on this plan her roommate, Bella, would come home to find Alice's bedroom cleared out alone with her abandoned call phone sitting on the bedside table. It was likely by now full of notifications of missed calls and angry voicemails.

Alice admittedly felt terrible for the girl. Bella was sweet, always kind, and didn't deserve to have this sprung upon her. She would be the one who had to deal with the questions following Alice's disappearance. Worst of all, poor Bella would have to answer to Alice's father in the coming days. But Alice knew if she'd warned her friend in person, Bella would have tried to stop her; she likely would have succeeded. So Alice had written a letter left next to the phone apologizing and trying to explain that she was okay. That Alice _needed_ to do this. She begged her friend to understand and forgive her, pleaded in written words not to come looking.

The consequences that would be placed upon Bella were the only thing causing Alice to hesitate. There was still time to change her mind, to take the responsible course of action and continue down the path laid out by her father. She could easily go back upstairs, tear up the letter, and put her belongings back in place. She could call Edgar with some made-up excuse; he would pull some strings to have her reinstated as a student. Alice could resume her life as usual, albeit with her father looking at her with slightly more disdain than usual. 

Alice shook her head furiously at the thought as though she could forcibly remove the doubts from her mind. This was something she needed to do, something she'd wanted for quite a while. To run away from her life, from her past. To start over someplace fresh, where nobody knew who she was. Someplace Edgar Brandon had no control, where she wouldn't be haunted by ghosts of the past.

So, despite the nervousness of the unknown still sitting like a weight in her stomach Alice finally started the car. She was headed off, to where? She didn't know; that was something she could figure out along the way.

* * *

Alice had been on the road for a few days, driving aimlessly in whatever direction struck her fancy. She took only backroads traveling through small farm towns and past long forgotten tourist traps. In Pennsylvania and Indiana, she'd found cheap cash only motels that didn't ask too many questions to get a nights rest. Her diet had consisted of mostly rest stop junk food. Occasionally she would stop at the occasional diner for something close to nutritions. She was now in Iowa, and the meter on her gas tank was bordering dangerously close to empty. Being so far from the highways and interstate, gas stations were few and far between, luckily though a sign on the roadside indicated there was a rest stop just a few miles out and so she made her way east to fuel up. 

Alice pulled into the parking lot and proceeded to drive up to the nearest of two gas pumps. A relic of a different time, it was an older style that she'd only seen in films on the classic movie channel. A sign was attached to the surface with duct tape instructing customers to venture inside to pre-pay for their gad. A reasonable request judging by the lack of space to insert a credit card, an option the woman would prefer to avoid anyhow. Accessing her bank account at the moment would leave a digital paper trail leading anyone looking for Alice directly to her location. Although chances were relatively high that Edgar wouldn't actually be looking for her, it wasn't a chance Alice was willing to take.

So, she pulled her denim jacket tighter against her body to brace herself against the harsh midwestern autumn winds as she made her way into the small timeworn building near the pumps. It was apparent that 'Bier's gas and go' had seen better days. The roof needed retiling, as evidenced by the barren spots sprinkled across the surface. A vintage coca-cola sign hung in the window. If a collecter were to ever venture off the interstate and stop by the old station, they'd likely pay a fortune for it despite the worn, sun-bleached condition. 

Inside, the owners had made decent use of the cramped space in a half-hearted attempt to keep up with the times. A table with a single chair was tucked away in one corner next to an out of date newspaper dispenser. Upon closer inspection, it became apparent that it had been out of use for years as the price per paper was set at .90 cents and the date on the periodical displayed in the machine was for June 13th of 1997. Despite the clear signs of a business on its last legs, the shelves were stocked with a small array of fresh products that the few customers passing through might require. Bags of chips were placed near the back of the store, a few boxes of candy bars sat on the checkout counter, and a belly cooler was pushed up against one wall stocked with soda, juice, and water.

A blonde woman just a few inches taller than Alice was leaning against the checkout counter, holding a backpack close to her chest as she chatted with the shops' only other inhabitant. A man, whose height towered over that of both women, was stocking cigarettes onto a shelf behind the register. Both parties looked up upon Alice's entrance, the man looking bored, yes surprised likely at having two customers within the premises in one day if his surroundings were any indication. The woman's eyes lit up, and she sucked her lower lip into her mouth, pressing it between her teeth as Alice approached the counter, paid for her gas, and received instruction from the man on how to operate the vintage pumps.

Alice said her thank yous, never one to forget her manners, and headed back outside. She began to pump her gas, grateful for Riley's instructions as operating the older pump was a foreign concept to the woman who'd never seen, let alone used one of this nature. Just as Alice returned the nozzle to its receptacle, the woman from inside exited the building. She looked around the lot before spotting Alice and headed directly over to where the woman was standing.

"Listen," She opened with a tinge of hesitation in her voice. "This might sound odd, but I was kind of wondering where you're headed." 

"You're right; that does sound odd." Alice had seen her fair share of horror movies. This was about the time she knew it would be a good idea to excuse herself, get back into her car, and get away fast. Yet, something in the woman's eyes that looked a lot like hope caused her to go against better judgment as she hesitantly questioned the woman, "Why do you ask?"

"I'm trying to get back home, to Texas. Been hitchhiking my way, kinda hopin' you might be kind enough to offer a ride it's not terribly far out of your way?"

"What's your name?"

"Charlotte, friends call me Charlie." The woman answered with a reluctantly hopeful half-grin.

"Well, Charlie, you're in luck since I've just been driving aimlessly up until now, and I wouldn't mind having a clear destination."

Charlotte thanked Alice profusely as she climbed into the passenger's side of the vehicle and placed her backpack on the floor between her feet. As the duo ventured back onto the backroads of the midwestern United States, Alice couldn't help but wonder if it was fate that brought the two girls together, that the small run-down gas station had been exactly where she'd needed to be.

* * *

Charlotte made for excellent company causing Alice's time on the road to become much more fun. She now had someone to talk to as her new companion was exceptionally vocal. Charlotte talked a lot about her family, specifically her older half-sister, who recently married and moved from their hometown of Dripping Springs, Texas to Tennessee with her new husband. The woman seemed to be close with her sister bringing her up in many of their conversations.

Halfway to Texas, they crashed for the night as a motel in Oklahoma. After a few drinks, Charlotte opened up about her older brother. The two had gotten into a fight just before the woman moved away. Her brother, Jasper, hadn't thought Charlotte was mature enough to leave home. He felt that she was idolizing the city and was worried she would get hurt. Charlotte argued that Jasper and Rosalie had babied her their entire lives, and she would never learn to be self-sufficient with Jasper and their mother watching over her and fixing every problem that arose in her life. Unfortunately, moving across the country on a whim _had_ been too much for the woman to handle, and she wasn't looking forward to telling her brother he had been right.

Apparently, this was the reason she'd been hitchhiking rather than asking her family to help purchase a plane ticket. Charlotte knew that logically her always supportive and loving family would welcome her back with open arms. That they weren't the 'I told you so' type. Still, she was nervous about what would happen when she returned and had hoped that by now, she might have figured out what to say.

The next day, Charlotte was uncharacteristically quiet. She grew stiffer and stiffer as the car crept closer to Dripping Springs. Alice offered to extend their trip slightly, pointing out that she had nowhere to be, and it would give the woman more time to clear her head. Charlotte contemplated the offer but, in the end, decided that there would never be a perfect time to do this. That she would never truly be ready to crawl back home or to admit she was wrong. Besides, she knew her mother and brother would be kind about the situation. Knew that everything would be okay; still, that didn't make it any easier.

It was a sentiment Alice could relate to; after all, less than a week ago, she'd abandoned everything in her life to hit the road. Although, in her own case, retuning would be much harder. Charlotte had a loving and accepting family who only wanted what was best for her to return to. She envied the woman slightly; if she'd grown up with even a quarter of the support Charlotte had, maybe she would still be at NYU right now. But those weren't the cards she'd been dealt. So, rather than feel sorry for herself, she refocussed on comforting her friend in the passenger's seat who had a monumental task to tackle in just a few more miles.

* * *

Charlotte instructed Alice to pull over next to a dingy looking bar on the main street when the pair finally arrived in Dripping Springs. She explained that this was where her brother worked and was most likely to be at this time of day. They sat parked for a moment; the air filled with tension as Charlotte stared at the bar from the bar window. Finally, she turned back to Alice, nervousness apparent in her expression, and asked if her friend would mind coming inside with her as it might be easier to do this with someone around for support. 

The bar was dimly lit, the only source of lighting coming from the numerous neon beer signs scattered about the walls. There were booths in every corner, and four tables surrounded by chairs took up half of the floor space. The other half of the room was occupied by a pool table as well as a cleared out area near the jukebox that acted as a dance space. Behind the bar stood a man who occupied himself with dusting off the rack on which numerous liquor bottles sat. 

"Jas?" Charlotte called out, causing the man to startle; he dropped the rag he was holding and spun around in shock, staring at his sister, who gazed back sheepishly. The room was quiet for a long time as the siblings stood caught in a silent conversation held via eye contact accompanied only by the ambient music playing from Jasper's phone sitting next to him on the counter.

"You were right. I couldn't...." She trailed off, looking down at the counter with shaking breath. 

Jasper only nodded in response as he reached into the belly cooler next to him for two beers, which he slid across the counter to the girls. "So, who's your friend?"

Jasper sat down with the girls, catching up with his sister and learning of her adventures with Alice. He was grateful to the woman for bringing Charlotte home but make sure to let her know she was an idiot for picking up a stranger at a gas station in the middle of nowhere.

As Alice got to know the man, she found herself drawn to him; he was attractive with his tall stature, messy blonde hair, and piercing green eyes. He was smart, witty, and it was endearing to see how easily he reconciled with Charlotte and how much genuine interest he took in her life. This was a real family, the type of relationship she'd tried so hard to cultivate with her own sister but had never managed to accomplish with their father constantly spinning his eldest daughter out to be a villain. 

Alice started fighting sleep as the night wore on, and customers began to file in, diverting Jasper's attention from the family reunion. She made a comment about needing to look for a motel for the night, and Charlotte looked at her as though she'd grown a second head. 

"No, you're definitely not."

"Char, I need to sleep."

"Not in a motel; after everything you've done for me, the least I can do is offer you the guest room at our place."

"You mean my place?" Jasper cut in, shooting his sister an amused glare before turning to look at Alice with fondness in his eyes. "She's right though, guest rooms yours for as long as you need if you'd like it."

Back at the Whitlock ranch in the guest room, Alice lay in a comfortable bed for the first time in days. She was tossing over the idea of staying in this town for a while. Before reriting to their rooms for the night Charlotte had practically begged her new friend to hang around. Alice hadn't been sure what she was looking for when she had set out on this journey. But having made a genuine friend in Charlotte and the way Jasper treated her with nothing but kindness made her feel as though just maybe she'd found it. It was too soon to determine anything for certain, but as she passed into sleep thinking about blonde hair and green eyes, she decided that it wouldn't hurt to explore the option.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading and a happy first day of Jalice Week to all <3
> 
> If you liked this please know I live for your kudos, thoughts and questions so leave a comment down below <3<3


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